ESO Movie 13: Polished Perfection

Movie about the creation of the mirrors for ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The VLT is not one telescope, but an array of four 8.2-m telescopes, supplemented by smaller telescopes. The 8.2-m mirrors are monumental mirrors — the largest mirrors ever made. Manufacturing such mirrors was a technological challenge. It required a dedicated team of highly skilled experts in European industry, as well as at ESO itself. This video documents the first part of a long and difficult manufacturing process of one of the 8.2-m mirror blanks for the VLT.